Dungeons and Dragons - Nightmare Bazaar
by Angelustatt
Summary: Renn Sunstrider hasn't slept since he was rescued from the hands of a slave auction, struggling to cope with what he experienced. Afraid to let his guard down. But his older brother Flynn isn't about to let him suffer alone. A simple one shot/missing coda to something played out by my character in D&D. Second story of the Brothers Sunstrider.


"Barkeep! 'nother ale!" Renn Sunstrider slurred drunkenly and loudly, slamming his empty tankard down on the table in front of him. All around him the tavern, the sounds of drunken revelry and laughter could be heard. Farmers, tradesmen, sailors and ladies of the night all mingling and drowning their sorrows in a hope that it would allow them to drag themselves out of bed the following morning and face their dreary lives with a renewed sense of purpose. Or at the very least, the simple strength to carry on through another day. It was something Renn could relate to. He was in a tavern full of like minded spirits it seemed tonight.

In the corner of the tavern, a small Halfing bard was singing to the best of their ability about tales of daring and bravery. The latest song was some sort of love story of a farm boy who had left his lands to try and rescue a milk maid from a Kobold raiding party. The words were sickly sweet as the bard spun his song for the crowd to hear. For the most part, the other tavern patrons were completely ignoring the Halfing. Renn watched them and snorted to himself in amusement. It could have been a skinned cat howling on the stage and the reaction from the crowd would have been the same. He contemplated getting up and showing the Halfling what a real bard was capable of, but it had been days since he'd slept more than an hour to two and right now he doubted he'd be able to sing half a verse without forgetting the words. Fine, let the amateur have his moment in the spotlight.

This was the fourth night in a row that Renn had been coming here. Losing himself in drink and chasing the skirt of any barmaid he was able to catch the eye of. The tankard he had slammed on the table was plucked from his hand and replaced by a full one. He lifted his bleary gaze and found himself staring up at Beatrice, an attractive young barmaid with ruby red lips and hair as dark as midnight that spilled down over her shoulders.

"You owe me 5 coppers for that." Beatrice smirked down at him.

"Five huh?" Renn blinked, fumbling for his coin pouch hanging on his belt.

Beatrice hitched up her skirt and straddled Renn's lap without another word. Leaning forward to press her chest into Renn's face, she reached down and grasped for his coin pouch dangling from his belt. Renn sniggered within the confines of her lacy bodice, his hands resting lazily on her hips. After a moment, Beatrice plucked out a couple of gold coins and tucked them into the folds of her skirt. As she sat upright again, Renn pressed several wet kisses across the soft skin of her bossom where it teased from inside her top. He leaned back in his chair, a dopey grin peeling his lips apart. "Find'em?"

"Oh yes, I found them." Beatrice smiled, reaching up to cup a hand to Renn's face. "Would you like me to get you another drink after this one? I could take payment for it now and fetch it for you."

Renn could see the flirtation in her eyes and his mouth went dry at the thought of burying his face in her chest again for a moment. He'd happily suffocate right there if he could. "Y'not?"

As Beatrice leaned forward again, the promise of more coin glinting in her eyes now, a hand caught her by the wrist and yanked her upright. She gasped and winced in pain, looking up to see a taller man scowling at her. "Ow, get your hand off me!"

"Flynn! Come and 'ave a drink wi' me!" Renn exclaimed happily as his gaze travelled up Beatrice's arm, completely unaware of the confrontation happening before him.

"Get off my brother and we won't have a problem." Flynn Sunstrider ordered simply, not loosening his grip. Instead, he pulled Beatrice up and off of Renn, then held a hand out. His open palm contained 5 copper coins. "How about you trade me these for the gold you just stole from my brother and I'll turn a blind eye to the rest of what you've taken from him?"

"Taken? I'm not a thief! I was just collecting payment!" Beatrice protested, smoothing down her skirt indignantly.

"No ale is worth 2 gold a pint. Give me back my brother's money or I'll tell the barkeeper about the nice little trick you've been turning here. How many patrons have you stolen from tonight?" Flynn pressed, not giving an inch. "I mean...if you'd rather explain it to the rest of these good folks?"

Beatrice's eyes widened as she saw Flynn opening his mouth, clearly intent on exposing her loudly to the rest of the tavern. She snatched the copper pieces from Flynn's hand before slapping two gold coins into his palm a moment later. With a flick of her skirt, she was gone, slipping away through the crowd.

Flynn shook his head, rolling his eyes as he saw the sorry state his brother was in. He slipped the gold coins into his coin pouch and took the tankard from Renn's hand, placing it down on the table. "Come on, time to come home."

"But 'm not don 'ere." Renn all but whined, his lips sinking into a pout.

"No, you're done. Trust me, little brother. Come on, get up." Flynn grabbed Renn's arm and dragged him up out of his chair gently. He kept a tight grip on Renn as he wavered drunkenly, slinging one arm over his shoulder. "Let's get you home so you can sleep this off."

"Sleep? Nuh...no, I don' wan' to." Renn protested again, trying to pull away and move back to the table.

"I don't care if you want to or not, it's what you're doing, Renn. How long's it been since you slept? Really, slept?" Flynn asked as he dragged his brother towards the tavern exit. The concern was clear in his tone and it cut through Renn's urge to lie.

"D'we ever really sleep? When was th' las' time you slept y'self?" Renn answered. It wasn't fair to throw it back on Flynn when he was just looking out for him, but it was the cost of doing just that, that scared Renn. He was all too aware of how little his older brother slept. Always on watch, always on guard...because Renn kept making mistakes and getting in trouble.

Renn pried himself free of Flynn's grip as they reached the street, intent on walking on his own and reclaiming some dignity. That dissolved the instant the cold night air hit him and his knees went to water, dumping him in the dirt. He fought the urge to vomit, choking it back down and taking in shaky breaths to calm his stomach. Once again, strong hands gripped his arm and gently pulled Renn to his feet. He leaned into Flynn as an arm was slung over his brother's shoulder again. "M'sorry..."

"I know you are." Flynn murmured quietly, steering them through the darkened streets towards their home. "But you have to stop, Renn. What ever is going with you right now...you need to stop. Ever since that auction you've done nothing but drink and chase skirts and it was chasing skirt that got you in trouble with that fucking auction in the first place...or have you forgotten that?"

Forgotten? Renn couldn't drink enough to forget. Barely a week ago he'd gone to bathhouse in town with the idea of having a hot soak to get some of the aches and pains from his bones. The life of adventurer was hard on the body. Ever moreso when you sold yourself as a Monster Hunter to anyone with the coin to pay for your services. There was never a shortage of work in the monster slaying business.

All Renn had wanted was a hot soak and maybe a drink to relax and forget nearly losing his brother in some godforsaken swamp. Swallowed whole by some ugly giant froglike creature. The sight of his brother being devoured was something Renn would not ever forget.

But instead of peace and hot scented water, Renn had made the mistake of taking up the offer of the young woman working at the bathhouse. Ermina, that had been her name. She had plied him with wine and massaged his aching shoulders...until the sedative had kicked in. Renn had woken up in a cage hours later. His brother, his companions no where to be seen, no way to find him. And yet they had found him and rescued him from the twisted auction Renn had been about to sold in. Having been taken as slaves for the fighting ring as children, the thought of being sold into slavery yet again had terrified Renn. But it had been worse than that. Oh so much worse. The auction was a marketplace for all sorts of creatures to find what they wanted. Food, servants, sacrifices, spell components...whatever they had wanted. The memory of it chilled him to the bone.

Flynn felt the shudder travel through his brother's body. He cocked his head ever so slightly and looked at Renn with concern. "Hey...are you okay?"

"M'fine...I just need some sleep." Renn muttered, feeling the cold returning his senses to him as the booze haze seemed to slowly fade.

"Well at least we're in agreement there." Flynn said quietly, adjusting his grip slightly to keep Renn upright as they continued stumbling towards their home. The simple house was within view as they rounded the final corner into their street.

Renn let Flynn steer him into his bedroom and flopped down on his bed, face first. He could feel Flynn tugging his boots off his feet and was vaguely aware of something - probably a blanket - being draped over him before the darkness rushed up and dragged him into it's depths.

** xxxxxxxxxDungeons and Dragonsxxxxxxxxx**

_It wasn't the first time Renn had been trapped in a cage and he was sure it wouldn't be his last. But this was the first time his hands had been encased in thick, heavy shackles. His mouth gagged. He didn't even have a shirt on, although it seemed they'd been kind enough to pull a ragged pair of breeches on at some stage. It gave him a small amount of dignity at least. But without his hands and mouth free, he was unable to cast the most basic of spells or cantrips. It just confirmed for Renn that he wasn't dealing with amateurs. They were well aware of what they had their hands on and weren't about to take any chances of him escaping. _

_Great. _

_Looking around his surroundings, Renn wrinkled his nose at the sour smell coming from the rag stuffed in his mouth. He was pretty sure he didn't want to think about where that rag had been previously. Not unless he wanted to choke on vomit. _

_The room he was in was small. Or at least it seemed that way. A large velvet curtain seemed to cut off the room from whatever was on the other side. To his left, Renn could see a large cage that contained a Minotaur. On the other side of him was another creature he didn't quite recognise, beyond it being some sort of lizard man. In the corner near the curtain, he could see a small Beholder watching over their every move with a cold blank stare that seemed to almost burn through him. Four smaller eye stalks watched every corner of the room carefully, on constant guard. Just what was going on? Where the hell was he? And how the hell would Flynn ever find him? _

_Panic exploded through Renn's chest, his heart racing as it began to sink in that his brother had no idea where he was. Would he ever see Flynn again? No...no he couldn't think like that. Of course he would. He just needed to find a way out of here, that's all. _

_Forcing himself to take in his surroundings more in an effort to calm himself, Renn studied the lock on his cage. If he could just get his hands free he'd be able to try and pick that at least. But how the hell was he supposed to get out of shackles that seemed to be magically bound to his wrists? _

_Out of the corner of his eye, Renn caught movement and saw the curtain shift slightly to allow a figure to enter. It was a Drow warrior. Renn blinked, surprised to see a Drow walking around so openly without a hood on to cover his appearance. The dark elf had long white hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail behind his head. Behind the Drow, three hunched and bedraggled looking women entered the room. The stench of them instantly told him these women were witches. There was always a sulphurous odour that seemed to follow witches...something to do with the taint of their magic clinging to their evil skin. He shuddered involuntarily as they looked around the room at the three cages, then headed towards his with a look of glee in their eyes. _

"_Ohhh this one is a pretty one, sisters! Look at that young, sweet and supple skin. I can already smell it as I rub his puppy fat all over my skin!" The witch speaking was flaxon haired and covered in warts. Her bright green eyes washed over his body as a sliver of drool slid over her lips and fell to the floor. _

"_I see you have an eye for quality, Berthina? We aquired this bard from a very reputable supplier. I can assure you that he's everything you could want to bid for. If you ladies like, I can leave you to examine him a little closer? I have another client I need to attend to for a moment." The Drow offered politely._

"_Yes, yes, do what you have to. My sisters and I will be more than happy to examine our future meal." Berthina waved dismissively at the Drow. _

_Meal? Renn felt his body shudder again, betraying his fear. They were going to eat him? Like a pig on a spit? _

_Another of the witches; younger and with dark hair that might have been the colour of black satin if it was washed, crouched down in front of the cage to study Renn. She cocked her head slowly from side to side almost like a bird as she stared at him hungrily. "I want his eyes, sisters. He has such pretty eyes. Eyes that still see the beauty and wonder of the world around him. Those eyes will pop in my mouth like plump ripe grapes." _

"_You can have the eyes, Aster...I want his tongue!" The third witch; younger still than her sisters, with short cropped flame coloured hair, crouched down and reached through the bars to grab Renn by the chin. She dragged him closer, her putrid breath filling his nostrils as he gagged and fought the urge again to vomit. "There's nothing sweeter than a bard's tongue. It's so plump, so juicy from all the charming they do. All those lies, all those stories make it taste sweeter than mother's milk. I shall bite it out of his skull and swallow it down whole...the finest meal ever!" _

_Berthina shoved her sister aside abruptly, cackling with laughter as she went sprawling. The eldest witch knelt down before Renn, studying him sharply, as though her eyes were looking right through his soul. Her hand shot out and dug into Renn's side, her claw like nails drawing blood as they sliced into his flesh. "Mmmmm yes, there's that puppy fat."_

_Renn screamed through the gag in his mouth, the sound pathetically muffled. His whole side was on fire, rivulets of blood running down from each puncture wound as Berthina squeezed his flesh. Renn squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on anything but the pain. His ragged breathing was whistling through his nostrils frantically. He couldn't get enough air. Couldn't think beyond the burning pain in his side. He felt lightheaded and once again panic burst through his chest. He couldn't pass out. Not now. He might not ever wake up again._

_Maker, all he wanted right now was to see his brother. Flynn had always been there to protect him and in this moment, Renn wanted to see his brother, hear his voice. _

_With a slick, almost slurping sound, the fingers were retracted from his side. Renn sagged to the floor and tried to push himself back to the rear of the cage away from the witches. _

"_His heart is young and tender. A heart that's never know the heartache of romantic love." Berthina smiled, looking over at her sisters. _

"_We shall cook it into a stew, sister...it will feed us for days!" Astor leered hungrily. She moved in and crouched beside her sister, reaching in through the bars to grab Renn's ankle before he could pull it away. _

_Renn gave out another muffled scream as he was dragged across the cage again and pulled against the bars. The witches' hands were all over him in seconds. Digging through his hair, nails trailing over his skin before digging into the soft flesh of his stomach. _

"RENN!"

His name was barked sharply with authority and Renn awoke with a start, his foot slamming against the wall as he kicked out in sheer panic. He slapped at the hands he felt on him, realising he was still screaming, the sound no longer muffled.

"Renn! Renn, easy! Hey, hey, hey...you're okay. You're awake! Renn!"

Renn looked up as the scream finally died in his throat. Where he expected to see the leering hungry visages of witches taunting him, instead he found the concerned face of Flynn. His brother gently stilled his trembling body by laying his hands on his shoulders.

"It's me...it's just me. It's okay, little brother. You're awake now." Flynn assured him gently, his tone soft and soothing. The tone Renn had heard all his life and now he wanted to cling to it like a drowning man. He nodded shakily and raked a hand through his hair, finding it damp with sweat. A quick glance around his room reassured him that he was home. The cage, the witches...they were gone.

Flynn was sat in a chair beside Renn's bed. A single candle lit the room from a small table beside Flynn. At a glance, Renn could tell it was one of the chairs from their shoddily carved dining table. They'd bought it with the house and the first thing either of them had ever discovered about the chairs...was that they were back breakingly uncomfortable after twenty minutes. Judging by the amount of light that was creeping into Renn's room? Flynn had to have been sat in that chair for hours by his brother's side, guarding him as he slept. Because it's what Flynn always did when Renn was in trouble. He watched over him.

Renn could see it in the deep circles under his brother's eyes. Flynn had sat there in utter discomfort so that Renn could sleep for once...and even that hadn't worked out.

"Are you with me, now?" Flynn asked. He was leaning forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched Renn like a hawk.

"I'm okay."

It was an utter lie. Renn could still feel his heart racing, his breathing still coming in gasps as he struggled to find the air he needed to fill his lungs. He swung himself around and hung his legs off the edge of his bed, his hands still trembling so hard that he folded them in his lap to try and hide it.

"You don't have to lie to me. I'm not blind you know." Flynn said quietly as he sat back finally, his back cracking in protest. He looked utterly exhausted himself and the sight of that broke Renn's heart a little more.

A protest formed on his lips once more but died quickly as Renn saw no judgement or condemnation from Flynn. There was nothing there was concern, love and a driving need to know he was okay. Ever the guardian.

"I'm sorry. I... I just... I'm sorry, Flynn." Renn could feel his chin quivering and bit his lip to try and rein in his wildly see sawing emotions.

"For what?"

"Everything. I've been trying to lose myself in women, in ale...for days. I haven't been able to sleep. I can't bring myself to eat more than a scrap of food. I can't think straight. I can't think of anything except for that fucking auction and what they did to me. What they wanted to do to me."

"Who, Renn? The Drow?"

"No, not the Drow. Those witches. Those fucking witches with their cackling and their dirty hands all over me." Renn lifted his shirt and ran his finger tips over the scars he could see in his side. The wounds had been healed easily by magic...but the scars still remained etched into his skin. "They...they were going to eat me. Like I was some fucking delicacy and I couldn't do a damn thing about it!"

Flynn reached out and placed a hand on Renn's knee, shaking him ever so gently to pull him back into the here and now. "Hey...they're gone. We took them down. All of them. The auction won't happen again and you helped with that. No one would have known about that place if I hadn't been looking for you. We saved a lot of lives. One hundred percent successful, remember? It's on our card."

Renn let out a choked, broken laugh, tears now brimming his eyes. "Stop humouring me. I know you're pissed off. I shouldn't have let my guard down. I let myself think with the wrong head and I nearly got myself killed. I let myself get captured like some stupid fucking rookie. If you...if you hadn't found me-.."

"Hey!" Flynn's voice was sharper now. "I will always find you. Okay? Always. And yeah, I'm pissed at you. I won't deny that. You need to think more, Renn, about what you're doing. You've always charged into things without thinking. You can't keep doing that. You need to be more careful. I'm not burying you too. You're all I have left. We're all we have left in this world. Just...promise me. Promise me that you'll think more before you do things?"

"I promise. More thinking, less stupid shit." Renn nodded, feeling a tear escape to slip down his face. He smudged it away quickly with a wet sniffle as he tried to recompose himself.

"Good. And no more lying to me about being okay. I want you to trust me enough to talk to me. I need you to trust me."

"I do!" Renn said hurriedly, panic flashing through him again. He couldn't screw this up now. "I trust you like no one else, Flynn. You know that!"

"Then stop hiding this sort of shit from me. Okay? It's okay to be rattled by what we do. You said yourself...when do we ever sleep properly? I doubt we ever will. But the last thing we need to do is lie to each other about what we're going through. We're all we've got, little brother. We've got each other's backs no matter what, right?" Flynn looked at Renn earnestly.

"Yeah...of course." Renn nodded. He let out a shaky breath and raked his finger through his hair again.

"Good." Flynn patted Renn's knee and stood up, groaning as his body protested the sudden movement. Renn watched his brother as he turned and left the room, suddenly feeling alone in the world as he looked around at the walls around him. But before that loneliness could gain any purchase, Flynn suddenly reappeared with his bedroll in his arms and rolled it out beside Renn's bed on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Renn gave his brother a confused look. "You've got your own room, you know?"

"I know. But it's colder in there than yours is. I think I need to have a tradesman check it tomorrow for drafts. Maybe patch up the stonework or something? Why? You got a problem with me sleeping here tonight?" Flynn arched an eyebrow at Renn.

"What? No...no, you're welcome to. I just didn't want you bitching about how uncomfortable the floor is in the morning." Renn quipped. He laid back on his bed and watched as Flynn laid down some furs on the bed roll and wrapped his winter blanket over himself. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he pulled his own blankets up and got comfortable. This dance was all too familiar. No overt displays of affection. They weren't children anymore. But Flynn's presence was enough to push away the lingering fears that were trying to cling to him now that Renn was awake.

As Renn lay in the dark and listened to Flynn's breathing even out in minutes and deepen, he felt exhaustion pulling at him again. He closed his eyes and let himself drift. There was nothing to fear anymore. His brother had his back as always and while Flynn was on guard, nothing would happen to him.


End file.
